Mercer Co. will reinstate jail guard fired in 2005
The county doesn’t know how much it will have to pay the guard.
MERCER, Pa. — A jail guard who was fired in 2005 will be reinstated to his job at the Mercer County Jail with back pay after a ruling by Commonwealth Court.
The Mercer County Prison Board unanimously recommended to county commissioners Tuesday that Sgt. Walter Weir Jr. be reinstated to his job will all his seniority and benefits.
Commissioners — all of whom sit on the prison board and voted Tuesday — are expected to formalize the action when they meet May 8.
Weir had filed a grievance through Teamsters Local 250, which represents jail guards, after his firing over his handling of an incident in which another jail guard had accidentally brought tobacco into the jail.
A state arbitrator ruled in March 2006 that Weir should be reinstated with back pay. The prison board appealed to Mercer County Common Pleas Court, which ruled against the arbitrator’s decision in December 2006.
Weir then appealed to Commonwealth Court, which earlier this month overturned the lower court ruling based on mitigating factors and agreed with the arbitrator.
County Controller Thomas Amundsen, prison board president, said the county will not appeal the ruling. Amundsen also explained that back pay would be awarded only for periods of time that Weir was unemployed when he was fired. He did not know the amount Weir would receive.
Tobacco is considered contraband and forbidden inside the county jail. The incident that led to Weir’s firing started when a jail guard accidentally brought tobacco into the facility. The tobacco was then stolen by an inmate, and the jail guard reported the theft to Weir.
Cells were searched and the tobacco found. But jail officials considered the report prepared by Weir misleading and also faulted him for failing to follow proper procedures during and after the incident.
Another guard also was fired and a third guard suspended 30 days without pay. But both men were probationary employees and could not file grievances because they were not yet union members.
Also Tuesday, Warden Jeffrey Gill announced the jail received a 100 percent compliance with minimum standards in a recent inspection by the state Department of Corrections. He commended jail staff for this accomplishment, and the board formally lauded Lt. Phil Hartsock for his work in preparing the report.
Gill also announced that “telepsychiatry” consultations for inmates begin this week. The Internet set-up will allow consultations with psychiatrists when needed instead of having to wait for an appointment and take inmates out of the jail. He said there should be a cost savings on psychiatric bills.
A new physician’s group will take over medical consultations at the jail. The group of three local physicians — who Gill could not name at this time — will replace an interim physician and physician’s assistant who had agreed to stay until a new provider was found. The new providers will be available to inmates two days per week, an increase over the last provider.
All the jail’s medical and psychiatric needs are now under the administration of CFG Health Systems, Marlton, N.J.
The board also commended Correctional Officers Donnie Stanley and Sgt. Doyle Whenry for their actions in saving the life of an inmate who was attempting suicide March 26.